Springfield, Ohio – The Wittenberg University women’s golf team has earned the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second consecutive year after a dominating performance in a the 2016 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship.
The Tigers advanced to the national tournament after winning the NCAC Championship Series by a whopping 58 strokes. Ranked sixth nationally in the latest GolfStat NCAA Division III statistical rankings, Wittenberg will attempt to improve upon last year’s surprising second place national finish when the Tigers hit the course at Bay Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas, May 10-13.
The 2016 NCAA Division III Tournament, hosted by the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, will include 21 teams and a total of 111 competitors. The Tigers are one of 17 teams that qualified automatically as a conference champion.
Wittenberg has finished first in six of its 11 tournaments in the 2015-16 season, starting with four straight victories in the fall and culminating with a pair of wins in the NCAC Championship Series. The Tigers posted the best score in each of the four rounds of the NCAC Championship Series, which included two rounds at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Streetsboro, Ohio, and two rounds at Wooster Country Club in Wooster, Ohio.
In 22 rounds during the 2015-16 season, Wittenberg ranks sixth in the nation with a stroke average of 80.08, which is .06 better than at the same time a year ago. As a team, Wittenberg’s scoring average is 314.09, which is more than one stroke better than 2014-15.
Sophomore Jane Hopkinson-Wood (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) has picked up right where she left off in a tremendous freshman campaign. Currently ranked ninth nationally in scoring average at 76.27, Hopkinson-Wood earned NCAC Player of the Year honors for a second straight year after winning both ends of the NCAC Championship Series.
For the season, Hopkinson-Wood has posted 10 top-10 finishes in 11 tournaments. The program’s first-ever All-America honoree a year ago, Hopkinson-Wood’s only finish outside of the top 10 during the 2015-16 season came at the Butler Spring Invitational against a field of NCAA Division I scholarship student-athletes.
Junior Macy Hubbard (Mason, Ohio/Mason) heated up at just the right time at the end of the 2014-15 season, winning medalist honors at last year’s NCAC Championship Series by a whopping 13 strokes and carrying that momentum to the best finish in school history by an individual golfer. Hubbard finished second in the nation individually to lead the Tigers to their runner-up team finish.
Hubbard won three events during the fall portion of the 2015-16 season, and she ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring average for several weeks. She currently ranks 20th nationally with a scoring average of 77.77.
Senior Maggie Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) is playing the best golf of her collegiate career, as she ranks in the top 50 nationally and third on the team with a 78.27 stroke average. She and Hubbard each have nine top-10 finishes in the 2015-16 season. Hopkinson-Wood, Hubbard and Smith all earned first-team All-NCAC honors.
Freshman Chloe Bradburn (Gahanna, Ohio/Columbus Academy) ranks fourth on the team with a stroke average of 83.64, and she earned second-team All-NCAC honors. Senior Allie Lawwill (Springboro, Ohio/Middletown) and sophomore Brianna Yee (Las Vegas, Nev./Faith Lutheran), who also earned second-team All-NCAC, are competing for the fifth and final position in the lineup. Lawwill’s stroke average is 84.06 and Yee is at 85.00.
“The top of our lineup can compete with any team, but we’ve also received really solid contributions from the other four players in the program this year,” said Head Coach Jeff Roope, who earned NCAC Coach of the Year honors for a third straight season. “Every player on this team has had the opportunity to participate in highly competitive tournament situations this season, and that should benefit us heading into the NCAA Tournament.”
Written By: Ryan Maurer